A Hundred Liftimes
by thamockingjayandpeeta
Summary: A quick one-shot about Katniss & Peeta & one way they may have grown back together. It's been done a million times, but this idea is pretty original, if I do say so myself. Told in third person POV. M for Lemon. ENJOY!


**Of course I'm not Suzanne Collins. I'd much rather be JK Rowling since Harry Potter is WAY more happily ever after than Hunger Games ever was.**

When he walked into the kitchen she turned around with surprise—and warmth—flickering into those platinum colored orbs. He couldn't believe after everything they'd been through together that his stomach still swooped with pleasant butterflies when her eyes met his.

"Hey," she said, wiping the blood from the game on a towel. She also greeted him with a smile, and that always made his heart stop, that smile of hers, because she wasn't one to smile often. Her olive-skinned, slightly freckled face held a permanent scowl, and life was funny as shit, because despite everything, she still smiled for him. It had taken some time for her to smile again, and it was with nothing but relief that that smile didn't make him think of her as nothing more than a murdering mutt. "You're home early."

_Home_, he thought at her words.

"Or… here early. Home… here…." She shrugged, and he marveled at the way she could read him now. "Whatever." A faint blush crept into her cheeks, making her look even prettier, and right when he thought she could never look more beautiful, she caught him by surprise.

"I am _home_ early," Peeta replied, emphasizing that yes, this was home. _Their_ home, though technically it was her house in Victor's Village they stayed in. But it'd been his home for the past six months, ever since that stormy night rattled the windows and he ran to her house, because he knew how the thunder reminded her of the sound of bombs. It was the first time since he'd been back that he'd allowed himself to really comfort her, and since that night they'd been inseparable, give or take a few flashbacks.

She gave him his space after a flashback, at his request, but never for more than a night. When she took to sneaking into his bedroom and climbing in next to him he realized he couldn't escape her. And when he woke up, his arms around her waist instead of her neck, he realized that maybe he wasn't as dangerous as he used to be.

Still, it took time, but they were in an okay place now.

So yes, this was home.

"What's that?" asked Katniss, forcing Peeta out of his thoughts. He looked down at the package and met her grey eyes again.

"Delly came by the bakery. She found this while she was unpacking and dropped it off."

"What is it?"

"My portfolio. I gave it to her before the Quarter Quell. She had it in 13 with her but she was advised not to give it to me, because nobody knew how I'd react to seeing all the pictures. Now that she's back from 13 and I'm back from the Capitol, she figured it was okay. I haven't looked through them yet. I thought we could go through the pictures… together."

Her eyebrows shot up in astonishment but she quickly composed herself. She smiled. "I'd love to. Let me just finish this up, okay?"

"Sure. I'll go shower some of this flour off of me. I know it gets everywhere."

"Yah, it does," she said with a soft laugh, and then she walked up to him, brushing her fingers through his hair. Sure enough, a few flecks of flour fell onto his shoulder. "But it's okay. I don't mind. It's just a part of you."

He could feel the tips of his ears turning red and had to remind himself to breathe. He's only been back a little over a year, and they've shared a few kisses in the past few months, but nothing serious. He didn't want to put too much pressure on her. The last thing he wanted was for Katniss to go back into her shell, and running from him and into closets.

He got enough of that while they worked on the book.

They kissed in their bedroom, and that was it, and normally only in her hair or on her forehead, before bed, during a nightmare, and before he left to the bakery. Kissing her now, in the middle of the day, would be too much for her, no matter how tempting.

That didn't mean they couldn't cut the sexual tension with a knife.

It didn't take long for their sleeping arrangement to start affecting him. It didn't take long for her body to melt into his, like it used to do on those nights on the Victory Tour. It became natural for his arms to wrap around her waist, or caress her arm. And then there were those mornings he woke up to her chest pressed into his, her legs in between his own.

He had started touching himself a few weeks ago for the first time since God knows when…. She never said anything about the hardness pressed against her, and she'd have to be dead not to feel it, and though she wasn't how she used to be, Katniss Everdeen was anything but dead.

At least not anymore.

He'd made sure of that.

Her tapping out of the present for days a time were fewer and farer between.

She was getting better, but Peeta still made sure that he did his best to be patient with Katniss. They were growing into a routine. That's what Dr. Aurelius said they had to do. He couldn't mess up the routine by kissing her now, in the daylight, in the middle of the kitchen, because he wasn't sure what he'd do after he opened that can of worms.

So even as her silver eyes left his blue ones and lingered on his lips, he cleared his throat and stepped back, letting out a harsh breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding.

"I won't be gone long," Peeta said, turning and heading upstairs.

"Okay," breathed Katniss softly, and she went back to finishing her game.

XxXxXx

When he came back downstairs with his portfolio in his hand Katniss was waiting for him in the living room. There were two cups of steaming tea on the table, and he smiled.

He sat down next to her, trying not to pay too close attention to the fact that she had changed and her hair was wet. She must have cleaned up in one of the downstairs bathrooms after she had finished cleaning the squirrel.

"You ready?" asked Peeta.

"Are you?" Katniss asked, looking at him, and he understood her concern. Who knew what they would find in this book. Would it set him back? It couldn't do more harm than the book they were making about the Games, so he nodded and opened it to the first page.

It was a picture of his dad.

Well shit.

Peeta closed his eyes and then snapped them back open when he felt a warm, calloused hand enclose his. He stared at Katniss and she offered him a small smile.

"You okay?"

"I…" Peeta shook his head. "I wish I had drawn this in color," he said softly.

"You share the same eyes," said Katniss quietly. "It used to be hard to trade with him because it was like looking at you. You have his piercing gaze, and smile. And his innate kindness. Your father was sweet. He was a good man."

"I know…." He smiled at her, squeezing her hand, and then turned the page.

"You drew Delly a lot," commented Katniss after they'd passed several pages, and Peeta had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

"She was like a sister I never had," was his response, and he tried to say it as casually as he could.

Katniss didn't respond, but she did shift closer to him after that.

He forced himself not to smile.

They went through the book, nearly halfway done, when they got to a picture that made Katniss stiffen at his side and take in a sharp breath.

"Wow," Peeta said. "I forgot all about this."

"Why did you draw this?" He glanced at her and she had a scowl on her face.

"You don't like it?"

"Like it?" She snatched the portfolio out of his hand. "Why would I like this?" Peeta glanced at the picture of Katniss, her hand clutched in Gale's hand as she rested her head on his arm. They were both asleep, him on top of the table, her on a chair, her signature braid falling next to her. "Do you remember why you drew this?"

Peeta gulped. "Yes."

"Why? Why did you draw this Peeta?"

"It was the day you made your decision, Katniss. Did you think I didn't know? The minute Gale was whipped you chose him. I remember that day perfectly. I walked in your house and saw that scene and time itself froze. That's how I was able to remember all the details. See the medicine in the background? I saw it all. I saw everything. But most importantly I saw a girl who had finally realized she loved her best friend." She didn't respond. Peeta gently took the portfolio back and placed it on his lap. "This picture was supposed to help me get over you. It was supposed to be a reminder."

"Did it work?"

"Hell no," said Peeta with a smile, and he saw her visibly relax. "Do you miss him?"

"You're asking me if I miss the man who's bomb blew up my sister?" Katniss' voice was cold.

"No. I'm asking you if you miss your best friend, the man you took a whipping for."

Katniss scowled again. "That man died along with the rest of District 12."

"Katniss—"

"I don't wanna talk about this, Peeta. Why do you always bring him up?"

"Because I'd like to know I'm not your second choice, Katniss!"

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and the anger darkened her eyes to black.

"I didn't mean that," Peeta said.

"Yes you did. And I can't blame you for wondering." Katniss took a deep breath and stared at her hands. She tried several times to speak, but nothing came out. Finally she spoke. "I'm sorry. I suck at this. I don't know how to express myself like you do."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have said anything." He was just relieved she wasn't yelling at him or running to her closet.

"No. You deserve to know." She took another shaky breath. "When you were taken, Peeta, everything kind of came crashing down. You heard Haymitch's story. We didn't talk for weeks. I was so mad at him for choosing me. The minute I made a pact with Haymitch to keep you alive in the Quarter Quell, I had chosen you. I don't know what else to say other than that. I just knew…. My life isn't worth more than yours. It wasn't then, and it isn't now."

"Katniss."

"You asked me, Peeta, so I told you. Live with it."

"So you're here because you owe me?"

Katniss glared at Peeta and stood up. "Dr. Aurelius should have never let you come back if you're still so confused," she said coolly, and started to walk off.

Peeta grabbed her hand before she could leave. "Don't, Katniss. You've spent enough of your life running from me. I don't want to fight. Let's just continue to go through the sketches, okay?"

Katniss continued to glare at him for a few more moments before sighing and sitting back down on the couch.

He continued flipping through the pages.

And then he flipped the page again.

"Madge," whispered Katniss so softly that Peeta hardly heard her. "Oh my God." Katniss' fingers fluttered over the page, caressing her friend. It was just a headshot, but it was a detailed sketch of her smiling.

Katniss turned the page and Peeta closed his eyes the minute he remembered this picture.

Well hell.

He braced himself for Katniss' anger.

"What the fuck?" she said, and Peeta cringed. "Peeta… what is this?"

He cleared his throat. "A picture of Madge."

"Why the hell is she in her bed?"

"Katniss… I can explain."

"What is there to explain, Peeta?" Her voice was chilled.

"Calm down."

"Oh, I'm calm." And she was. That was what was scaring him. There was a quiet edge to her voice that he'd never heard before, and it was scaring the shit out of him. He refrained from shivering with difficulty. "Is she naked under her covers?"

"I…."

"Oh my God. You're _blushing_." If her voice got any higher bats would be able to hear her pretty soon. "Did you sleep with her?"

"No! God, no. But…"

"_But_? Did you _want_ to?"

"I almost did."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means… shit…. I don't know what it means." He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. He definitely should have gone through this portfolio before showing Katniss.

"Start at the beginning. When did you guys even get close enough for you to draw a picture like this?"

Peeta sighed, closing his eyes. "It's not what you think." He opened his eyes to Katniss scowling and her arms folded across her chest. "We became friends the day Gale got whipped." Katniss tensed and blanched beside him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Look, I told you it was kind of obvious you'd chosen him, especially when you got all jealous of Madge applying the medicine to Gale."

"I wasn't jealous," snapped Katniss. "I was just mad because I didn't understand what had happened between them for her to think she could do it." Peeta just stared at her. "Okay when I say it like that it sounds like I was jealous." Peeta waited. "But what right _did_ she have? He was _my_ best friend."

Peeta looked down at the picture. "Gale and Madge slept together, Katniss."

There was a thick silence for several moments.

"When?"

He looked up at her then, and felt relieved that he didn't see jealousy in her eyes anymore. Just shock. "During our first Games. They both cared about you and one night they were watching the Games at her place and I think their fear got in the way of their better judgment, so… one thing sorta lead to another. The next morning she confessed that she'd liked him for the past few years. He told her that he was in love with you, and she said that she knew that. He wasn't a complete dick. He told her he was sorry, but that it was a mistake, gathered his things, and that was that."

"How do you know?"

"She told me. Look, after Gale got whipped, and we both realized you cared for Gale… Madge and I became friends."

"Friends? That looks like a lot more than friendship."

Peeta tried not to be too thrilled at the fact that she was jealous. Jealousy meant she still felt something for him. On most days he thought she did, but it was nice to have a little reassurance every now and then.

"We didn't immediately jump into this night," Peeta pointed out.

"Start talking, Peeta."

He sighed again. "Madge and I had a moment while we were both here, watching you care for Gale. We locked eyes, and we both kind of got it. Later on, after I'd left, I went back to the bakery, and she was waiting for me. I grabbed us some cookies and sat down across from her and asked her how long she'd been in love with Gale, and from that moment on, we had something in common." Katniss arched an eyebrow, her arms still folded across her chest, and Peeta smiled ironically. "We were both hopelessly in love with Seam kids who wanted nothing to do with us."

Katniss stood up and turned away. "That is so unfair." She stared out the window, no doubt looking at the primroses that graced their front garden.

"What isn't?"

"You giving me all this slack about kissing Gale when you were… you were…."

"I was… what exactly?"

"Sneaking around with Madge."

"I wasn't _sneaking_. You were too wrapped up in Gale to even fucking notice in the first place." Katniss spun around and glared at him, and Peeta immediately put his hands up. "Just… let me finish okay? We're so passed this. This was years ago, Katniss. It feels like lifetimes ago. And I never said anything to you about you and Gale, other than that one time in 13 after I'd gotten back from the Capitol. Now you asked me to tell you what happened. Are you gonna let me do that?"

Katniss continued glaring at him but stomped over to the couch and sat down.

Two seats away from him.

"We grew close as time passed. We'd meet up, late at night, and just look at the moon or count the stars…. I _liked_ her, yah. I won't lie. But… compared to how I felt about you… well… she was nothing. She was an escape from the pain, as I was to her….

"When the Quarter Quell announcement came on… well… let's just say you and I weren't the only ones who were distraught. After talking to Haymitch I went home. It wasn't long before Madge was knocking on my door. She was the only I'd see, besides you, and I knew if anyone wasn't coming, it'd be you. Not even my father or Delly could get me to open the door.

"We just sat together and cried. And then cries turned into kisses, and yah, I could have slept with her while you were getting drunk with Haymitch." Peeta cracked a smile, trying to lighten the mood, but Katniss just stared at him. Once he realized that wasn't going to work he cleared his throat and continued. "It was her idea to make us train as Careers. She said we have to do whatever it takes to win, because she couldn't lose us. She told me the first time she was scared she was losing one friend, and now she was afraid that she'd lose two."

"Friend," scoffed Katniss, rolling her eyes, and if she was talking about her or Peeta he didn't know.

"As we got closer to the Quarter Quell I kept hanging with Madge. On the night before the Reaping… when I probably should have been with my family… I was with Madge. And I just had the undeniable need to feel alive…. I didn't think I'd make it back. I _knew_ I wouldn't. What the hell was the point? What would I come back to, a mom who hated me, a family who didn't need me, and a girl who I'd always compare to you?" Peeta shook his head. "I walked her home, and somehow I ended up coming inside. And next thing I know, we were making out and then clothes were coming off and I told her she'd be my first, and my last.

"And then she looked at me in the eye and asked me if I planned to come back. I told her no, that I'd die in that Arena, for you, to make sure you came back. And then she asked if I could ever love her. I responded by saying about as much as she could ever love me. And then she kissed me, I got dressed, and I was about to leave, except I turned to tell her I was sorry, and she just looked so damn beautiful. It was like that moment when I saw you and Gale the day he was whipped. Time stood still. So I asked her if I could draw her, and she let me. And that was the last time I ever saw Madge Undersee."

"So why didn't you sleep with her?" asked Katniss.

"Because I wasn't Gale. I loved you too much, and I respected her too much. It's just not me."

Katniss looked away. "Do you regret it?"

"What's to regret? I didn't love her, Katniss, and I never could."

"Why is it you remember all that?"

"I remember random, pointless shit. I think that falls in the category."

"So is that who you think about when you…?"

"When I what?"

Katniss didn't respond, but those grey eyes flickered down to his crotch, and his mouth dropped open.

"Jesus fucking Christ. No. _Hell_ no. Why would you… how did you? No. God no." He could feel that his face was on fire, and she'd turned light red as well.

"So have you ever… with anybody?"

"Ever what?"

"You know what," Katniss snapped.

Peeta shook his head. "No, Katniss. I've never had sex with anybody."

He wasn't going to ask. He wasn't.

Definitely wasn't.

"Have you?"

Got damn it.

"No," said Katniss quickly, blushing. Then she softened. "It was always either going to be you or Gale, Peeta, and Gale never gave me that hunger I felt in that cave or on the beach." Katniss paused as Peeta stared at her. "I don't even know if you remember those things," she added, quieter still.

"I do, Katniss," said Peeta just as quietly. "I remember a lot of things. I haven't had to play Real, Not Real in a while now. I remember mostly everything, especially about how I feel about you."

She looked out the window again, and Peeta willed her to ask him, ask the million dollar question, because he wasn't gonna tell her if she didn't ask.

"Why haven't you said anything?"

Eh, close enough.

"I wasn't sure how you'd react. And I'm still not sure if you're sure about how you feel."

She still wasn't looking at him, but when she turned to him, her eyes were guarded. She started unbraiding the tip of her braid, and then re-braiding it, over and over again, and Peeta wondered if she was tying knots in her subconscious.

She bit her lower lip for several moments, still just staring at him, and he stared back, afraid to break the spell.

And then, for the first time in a long time, her lips were on his. He didn't even remember her moving.

He felt everything come shattering down as their lips touched, and it was so much more than sweet, and loving, and passionate…. It was hot, and needy, and electric, and it made his hair stand on end and his body sizzle with want.

He was dizzy when she finally pulled away, and she looked just as frazzled as he felt.

Both of their breathing was hard, but he nearly forgot how to breathe when she took his hand and placed in on her chest.

"I've never been good with words. I just want you to know… Gale never made my heart beat like this, okay? I don't want to talk about him anymore. And I don't care what happened with you and Madge. We're here, right here, now, and this is where we're supposed to be."

When she stood up and walked away, he was speechless.

The only thing coherent that he could think of was that she may not be good with words, but she was damn good at actions.

And maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the only one in this house who didn't know the affect they had on people.

XxXxXx

That kiss didn't help the sexual tension. Now that they had broken that barrier, their lips found each other's regularly. One morning he'd brushed his lips to her temple before leaving for the bakery and she'd grabbed his hand, yanking him back to her, and crushed her mouth to his.

He'd had a hell of a time walking that morning.

Sometimes it felt like they were kids again, making out like they were in high school. They always stopped before it went too far, but lately Peeta felt like he wanted to leave his mark on her, make her his, claim her.

But he knew he couldn't pressure her.

They were growing back together, though. She'd always have nightmares, his Katniss, and he'd always have flashbacks, but they weren't as frequent as they used to be. He didn't have to be tied up in the chair as much, and when he did, she was there, every time, trying to bring him back.

They finished the book, adding Finn to the last page, as he was the last real part of the Revolution. They let Haymitch look through it so he could tell them of any final changes, but as he'd been helpful throughout, he approved it.

Things were getting tenser between Peeta and Katniss, as the strain of holding back with each other started to take it's toll on them. He wanted her. God, how he wanted her, but he was just so afraid to push her….

But this Katniss wasn't the frail girl he'd come back home to a year and a half ago. This Katniss was a woman, waiting to bloom, and he understood that one night when she'd finally been bold enough to touch the bulge in his pants.

He'd jerked in her hand and was so surprised that he came, blushing furiously and incredibly embarrassed. She'd kissed away his apologies and after cleaning himself up she'd curled into him, instantly asleep.

Pretty soon after that they were exploring each other. They were in bed one night, and he was harder than ever, and he knew she felt it but how the hell was he supposed to control himself when she was _kissing_ him like that, and sucking on his bottom lip, and biting his earlobe? And he was the victim, really, as she'd slithered on top of him before he could even blink, and she was kissing him everywhere, face, lips, eyelids, nose, cheeks, neck, collarbone and holy fucking shit did she just lick his jaw?

So when she slid her hands down his pants and gripped him he nearly died, and when he remembered how to breathe he'd gasped so hard she withdrew her hand like the speed of lightening.

After assuring her he was okay she shyly asked him how he liked to be touched, so he'd showed her, and there was something about having Katniss Everdeen, the woman of his dreams, stroking him, and it took all of three seconds for him to give in to the sensation. She stared at him, transfixed, intrigued, and empowered, he could tell, because he knew her.

The next time it'd been his turn, and after telling him that he didn't have to, that she was fine, he ignored her and brushed her center. Her sharp intake of breath was proof enough that no, she was not fine, and if that didn't do it, the amount of wetness between her thighs was enough.

He learned by listening and watching, because she was still too pure and shy to tell him exactly where to go, or what to do. So he watched her chest rise and fall when he curved his finger right _there_. He listened to the moan that escaped her mouth when he rubbed this nub. And he found that he could make her cum by sticking two fingers inside of her, stroking her, and rubbing this bundle of nerves.

And those few awkward times of gripping too hard, of his fingernails not being cut down enough, or not knowing how to stroke or which direction he needed to go in to find her spot were long forgotten.

That sustained them for a while, before the need became unbearable.

He had to have her.

Tonight.

She seemed to agree, because tonight there was just something _different_ about how she was kissing him and touching him and grinding her hips into his.

"Peeta," she whispered into the night, her back arching as he fingered her, and she said it in a way she never had before as her hands slid into his shorts, gripping him.

"Katniss," groaned Peeta, kissing her neck. "I know I always say we don't have to do anything you don't want to, but if you keep making those noises, I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to stop."

"I don't want you to stop." He stopped kissing her and stared at her, speechless. "I don't. Don't stop this time. There's this… hunger Peeta."

"Katniss…." There was longing in his voice, but before he could ask her if she was sure she kissed him, forcefully, hotly, her tongue attacking his, and the two of them moaned together.

When she pushed him away he looked at her with eyes so dark they were navy. Hers were black under heavily lidded lashes.

"Did you change your mind?" panted Peeta.

"Off," was the only word she got out, and he moved to get off of her, but she wrapped her legs around him, shaking her head. "Off." She reached down his torso and grabbed his tee shirt, pulling it up, and suddenly he understood. He helped her take it off and as soon as it was flung across the room her lips were on his chest. He hissed as she left happy trails across his chest and cursed when her tongue came into contact with his nipple.

If she weren't careful he'd cum right then and there.

Her lips found their way to his neck and she sucked on him and he made a sound he didn't know he was capable of, and he was pretty sure that it didn't sound too masculine. When her lips captivated his he kissed her like his life depended on it.

He slid his hands under her shirt and they both gasped at the contact.

He'd never touched her breasts before. They'd been intimate but normally he'd stop his exploring when he felt the curve of her breasts. He never wanted to take it too far.

He wished he'd touched her sooner at the noise that escaped from deep within her throat.

"Oh my God," she gasped out, her eyes fluttering open. She pushed him away from her body again and started to life her shirt.

"No. Let me." Peeta lifted her shirt, slowly, reveling in her beauty inch by inch. He took in every detail, from the swell of her breasts to the rise of her chest as she inhaled and the burn marks that trailed down her side.

"Peeta."

He'd been staring, and probably drooling, and hearing his name snapped him back to the present.

"Sorry," he breathed. "I just… I mean… you're so perfect."

"But my scars…."

"I have them too, Katniss. You know that. You're still beautiful." And to prove his point he started kissing every single scar.

And then he planted his lips on her right breast.

Why in all the name of everything holy hadn't he done this before?

She seemed to agree because she whimpered and then grabbed his head, pushing his head deeper into her breast.

He took the hint.

When he started kneading her left breast he couldn't even switch tactics and suck the left one while kneading the right one.

He had to get inside her, now, now, now, _now_.

She seemed to agree.

"Please, Peeta," she said throatily, and he agreed.

He didn't even have to tell her to open her legs.

They were parted for him.

He lined himself up and looked at her. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"The quicker you start the quicker it ends."

That was great logic.

"What about… protection?"

"I've been on birth control since that first kiss, Peeta."

That was good enough for him.

He gently, gently, gently entered her, once again not breathing, because if he started breathing he'd want to start pumping, and if he started pumping he'd hurt her, and he didn't want to her because she felt _so damn fucking good_ that even just staying in this position made him want to bust.

"Peeta, please move," groaned out Katniss, and suddenly he was bought back to reality as Katniss started grinding her hips to his.

He shuddered and slowly started moving and she gasped.

"Am I hurting you?"

"You're… perfect," she moaned. "God." She closed her eyes and arched her back.

"Look at me Katniss." She obliged and he realized how stupid that command was, because he couldn't keep staring at her, because he'd cum, and he was already so close, so he buried his face in her neck, though that wasn't much smarter because she smelled so good, so wonderfully good.

_Breathe_, he told himself. _Breathe and think about something, anything other than Katniss, and being inside of her, and how tight she is, and how warm and wet she is, and how she fits me like a glove. Don't think about her moaning and gasping your name. Don't think about how real this is._

"Katniss, I'm gonnna… I don't think I can last."

He was trying to, because he knew how rare it was for girls to cum their first time, but damn it to hell it wasn't easy.

He'd never known something could feel so good.

She didn't respond to his confession so he chanced a glance at her, and as he did he felt her clench around him, calling out his name like a prayer, tightening her legs around his hips, her nails digging in his back.

Holy fucking shit Katniss Everdeen was coming undone because of _him_.

His body started acting on its own accord and started plunging in and out of her at a rapid pace; exploding inside of her so hard his head was spinning and he saw stars.

He cursed softly and buried his face in the crook of her neck until he remembered how to breathe properly.

It was several moments before he rolled off of her.

English. That was the name of the language he spoke.

There was an alphabet and those letters formed words that made sentences.

If he opened his mouth and stopped gaping like a fish he would be able to speak those sentences.

But first his heart rate had to slow down.

That was amazing.

He tried to tell her so, but something else came out instead. A question.

"You love me, real or not real?"

She snuggled into him, her voice still deep, and says, "Real."

He didn't think they'd ever get to this place. He'd hoped she'd get here one day, even if it meant being with a boy she took a whip for instead of him. This is what he had wanted for her, to be loved, and to love somebody in return.

The fact that it was him meant that it'd all been worth it.

It had started with a song, sang by a five-year-old in a red plaid dress with two braids down her back and ended with a woman who kissed him because of a few sketches.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

And she was worth a hundred lifetimes.

**I know some of you are waiting for my update for The Lieutenant and the Artist. Part two is coming soon. **

**The idea for A Hundred Lifetimes hit me at work today and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I have to admit I like the idea of Peeta getting over Katniss with Madge. I just feel like Madge and him had a lot in common. (You'll also see that in Rise From the Ashes). However in knowing Peeta and I don't think his character would have done anything with Madge. Still, it's fun to explore.**

**I know the 'real, not real' thing has been done like a trillion times, but you can't talk about their first time without talking about it, so yes, I had to add it in there if I'm going to stay true to the books.**

**I really want to write a one-shot where Katniss and Peeta get snowed in…. What do you guys think? Let me know.**

**Updating my stories soon, I promise.**

**-thamockingjayandpeeta**


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